A Golden Sun Rising
by DrillingPlanet
Summary: AU. The adepts serve under King Babi, Ruler of Angara. King Faran rules Gondowan, and the two continents are at each others throats. Yet something out of the line of sight is subtly pulling the strings.
1. Chapter 1

Authors Notes: Hello, I'm DrillingPlanet, and I've lurked her for a number of years. I've decided to unleash a story of mine to the community and I hope you enjoy reading it as much I am enjoying writing it. As it is my first fic, I'd appreciate and reviews or constructive criticism you may have. This is set in the Golden Sun World of Weyard, but since it does not follow the Golden Sun story line, I suppose you could consider it an AU fic.

Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own no part of Golden Sun, Camelot, Nintendo, and their affiliates. This fic is written for pure enjoyment and no profit will come of it.

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**Prologue:** The continent of Angara was one of peace and prosperity, ruled by the mighty King Babi, whose actions were advised by the king's scholars, Kraden and Iodem.

Angara's capital city, Vale, was a bustling market place where poverty was next to nil, and unemployment wasn't in the average peasant's vocabulary.

South of Angara was Gondowan, a developing continent, Gondowan possessed some of the finest warriors the local barbarian tribes could offer.

The citizens of Gondowan were thought to be inferior to those of Angara. Angarians though so little of their neighbors to the south that king Babi had taken the liberty of building a lighthouse just northeast of Gondowans capital, Laviero, and to save precious tax payers dollars, used the local lavierians as slave labor to complete it. Also, Angarians had settled on what Gondowans thought was their land. The people of Angara thought that the banks of the Tolbi River were the divide between Gondowan and Angara. The Gondowans thought it to be farther north, on the south shores of the Karigol Sea.

These acts angered a lot of the Gondowans; they grew increasingly hostile towards visiting Angarians, so much that king Babi put an embargo on trade to Gondowan. This only succeeded in angering the Angarians neighbors to the south even further. In turn, King Faran of Gondowan put an embargo on trade to and from Angara. The two countries harbored resentment for years, hatred simmering just under the surface of their skin. After a number of years troops from both sides began camping themselves on the opposite banks of the Tolbi River, just south of the town of Tolbi. The river basically became a demilitarized zone. Neither side wanted to incur the wrath of the other. So they sat there, waiting for someone to make the first move.

The once small town of Tolbi became a bustling port, as soldiers on leave came and spent their hard earned coins. The town's economy boomed and expanded as the town grew with its economy. One day a soldier on leave found gold while wading in Karigol Sea. This caused prospectors from all over Angara to come to Tolbi, looking to strike it rich. The rush of gold miners caused Tolbi's economy to grow even further and the town grew, as usual, with the town's economy.

On the opposite side of the river the town of Suhalla grew as Gondowan troops any Gondowans had to go through the treacherous waters of the Karagol Sea to reach the mainland of Angara, while the Angarians had came from the harsh Suhalla desert. The two towns grew into medium sized military outposts. The full strength of neither army was put on the banks of the Tolbi River. As both countries were relatively safe from one another. The majority of Gondowan was protected from invaders by the sands of the Suhalla desert. A harsh place not fit to provide life. While Angara was protected from invaders by the Karigol Sea, its dark waters held many a sea creature. And unpredictable weather made for an eventful sea voyage.

Each continent was blessed with an elemental lighthouse. The world of Weyard, as its inhabitants called it, was comprised of four elements, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Mars. Mercury was better known by many as the element of water. While Jupiter was the element of wind, Mars harnessed fire, and Venus was the bringer of the earth. Four lighthouses were constructed by the ancient people of Weyard to seal the powers of the elements from mans greed. In Weyards modern day, as select few were born with the ability to harness the power of the elements. Those with the power to harness the elements, also known as alchemy, were put into four groups. Those with the ability to harness the power of wind were known as Jupiter adepts, those with the power of fire were Mars adepts, and earth and water users were Venus and Mercury Adepts respectively.

Adept was the common term for one who could harness the elements. The harnessing of this power was called psynergy. Psynergy was most commonly used for simple tasks, like moving far away objects, and did not take a lot of mental energy to accomplish. Few used psynergy for combat, as that was a much more advanced use of the skill, and caused severe mental drain on the user. Still, the adepts of both Angara and Gondowan were highly revered by their people and rulers.

When the ancient people of Weyard built the lighthouses, they left themselves a backdoor to releasing alchemy. The power of alchemy wasn't in the lighthouses but in the form of four stones known as stars. The Mars Star, the Venus Star, the Mercury Star, and the Jupiter Star all had their respective powers of alchemy sealed within them. The stars them selves contained immense power. If one had possession of such a star they could bolster their own senses, or use it to aid the skills of others, the possibilities were endless. Shortly after their creation, the stars were hidden away so that mankind could never use them again. The only ones who knew where the stars were all hidden eventually died, mostly because of natural causes, all of them took their secret to the grave. The aerie of the lighthouses contained a pit, or gullet. When the stars were dropped into their respective places, the power of alchemy was released from that particular lighthouse. When all four lighthouses were lit, the power of alchemy would once again be unleashed upon the world. Generations had passed by, and no one living was sure what the effects of alchemy on the world would be. Common acceptance was that alchemy would unleash unheard of horrors on the world, ultimately destroying the world itself. But is that story a myth, or reality?

**Chapter One:** _Thump… thump… thump… _Issac's hammer drove the nail into the roof. He'd been helping repair villagers roofs after a thunderstorm had struck the city of Vale the previous night before.

The sun was low in the sky as he finished the roof of an old widow. When he was satisfied that he'd done as much as he could, he climbed down from the roof and found the houses occupant. "Your roof's good as new ma'am." He told her as he wiped the grime off his face.

"Thank you dear." She said gently, "Have a nice evening."

"You too ma'am, just let me know if your roof needs any more maintenance." He replied.

Isaac milled through the evening crowd, heading back towards the castle, his stomach growling in anticipation of its next meal. He rounded a corner, and walked straight into his friend Garet.

"Woah, Isaac you need to watch where you're going." Garet said, with a slight tinge of annoyance in his voice.

"My apologies Garet."

"No big deal bro, we all have our share of clumsiness." That was an understatement if there ever was one. Garet was the biggest and clumsiest oaf Isaac had ever known. The man was born with two left feet for Pete's sake. The two continued towards the castle. Entering the castles outer wall Garets stomach growled loudly. Isaac was about to tease Garet about this, but before he could open his mouth his stomach also gave a loud growl. The two burst out laughing, causing the nearby people to stare at them.

Ignoring the stares of the townsfolk the two walked up to the gates of the castle. The two sentries at the gates snapped to attention.

"Sir Isaac, sir Garet," One of them spoke, "we shall open the gates for you." The two quickly made an act of opening the giant oak doors. Isaac and Garet walked in to the great hall. The great hall was a stunning array of red carpet and stained glass windows. To the left of the adepts, a door leading to the king's dining room stood open, as if expecting the two.

"Have a nice evening gentlemen." The other guard said as the two sentries pulled the door shut behind the adepts.

Walking in to the dining room, the smells of many delicious foods overwhelmed the adept's senses. Turkey, gravy, cranberries, chicken, rolls, stuffing, wines and ales and much more greeted the adepts. Garets mouth started to water, a great look of happiness washed over his face.

Sitting at the table, were five more adepts, Mia, Piers, Ivan, Jenna, and Felix all greeted their friends. At the head table was non other than king Babi himself. Who was sitting with his royal scholars Kraden and Iodem.

Isaac took a seat between Ivan and Felix while Garet chose to sit between Mia and Piers.

"Welcome!" Babi greeted the group, "I have some important news to discuss with you all… but first, let's eat."

"Amen." Garet said, and immediately began piling his plate with food. Isaac shook his head in amusement at the sight of his friend ravenously attacking the stack of food that Garet had piled on to his plate. Isaac chose to eat a bit more daintily than his childhood friend, but he too, still had enough food to feed an entire squad of the king's army.

Small talk was exchanged among the group, and laughter fill the hall. After the main course was over desert wines and cakes were brought out by servants. But before desert could be finished, Babi began to address the group.

"I trust that you had an excellent dinner?" Babi inquired,

"It was magnificent." Piers said. Piers was an adept from the island of Lumeria, an island far out in the eastern sea that was always veiled in a blanket of fog, it was said that time it self slowed on that island. No one knew for sure, but those born there were blessed with incredibly long lives and seemly eternal youth. Piers looked as if he was in his early 20's but it was anybodies guess as to how old he really was. Ivan had put an estimate at 120-150 years of age, but Piers wasn't planning to tell anyone anytime soon.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it Piers." Babi gave a nod in Piers direction, "But now that our stomachs are full, it is time to talk business." Babi paused, but only for a second, "I've brought you all here because you are all about to be assigned a task, we've matters of the kingdom to attend to, and of course the ever present threat of hostilities between Gondowan." The mood in the room instantly darkened at the mention of Gondowan. It was not a well liked subject. Still, Babi continued. "Isaac, Mia, there has been an outbreak of epidemic in Imil, a small village far to the north at the base of the Mercury Lighthouse. News the epidemic reached my ears just this morning by way of messenger. I want you two to go their and treat the sick."

"King Babi." Isaac interrupted, "Mia's a very skilled healer, but the most I can do is treat physical wounds, not sickness. It would be better to send Piers, as he is much more skilled than I." Isaac leaned back in his chair, finished.

"You concern is acknowledged, Isaac." Babi said, "But I need Piers for another assignment. Your main job will be an escort to Mia, not that she isn't capable of defending herself, but I believe of safety in numbers. Limited your healing powers may be, but I leave it to you to find a way to make yourself useful." Babi clapped his hands, "Now on to other matters, Ivan and Garet." He addressed the two adepts, who perked up immediately. "Their have been rumors of brigands pillaging caravans along the silk road from Xian to Kalay. I want you to check it out. To accompany you I've assigned a squad of my best men to serve under you for the time being." Babi took a long sip of wine, coughed once, and continued with his speech. "Finally I want Jenna and Felix to continue the search for the elemental stars." Felix and Jenna sighed, they'd searched for months looking for the stars, but they'd let to reveal a single clue as to the stars whereabouts.

"What about me sir?" Piers spoke up, "Am I to do nothing?"

"I almost forgot about Piers!" Babi exclaimed, "You have a very important job I need done. Piers, I need you to set sail for Lemuria and try to persuade them that, if we go to war, that they will lend aid in healing the wounded. In turn, we will open trade with them once again."

"It will be done with all swiftness sir." Piers said.

"Very good," Babi said, "I want you all to set out for your tasks tomorrow. In the mean time, this meeting is adjourned." As the adepts began to leave the table and the servants swooped in to clean the table. Amid the clatter of dishes Babi spoke to his advisors in a low voice.

"Come with me, I need help informing Faran of our Gondowan visitor."

"Did you ever happen to get her name?" Kraden asked as they stood up from the table. Babi fixed Kraden with an icy stare, "Her name… is Sheba."

Sheba's breath came in short spurts as her mind struggled to move the stones that blocked something. No one had bothered to tell her what they were digging for; she was just doing as she was told. Her mental fatigue was complicated by the fact that the air was so damn thin up here. She felt dizzy, nauseous even. Several times Sheba's stomach had won the battle over her brain, and her stomachs remains now lay in a pool nearby. The soldiers on the dig were anything but kind to her, they had no pity for the girls suffering.

Sheba continued to use her psynergy to move the stones. Soon her vision blurred, she had no idea what was happening, and breathing came in painful spurts. Mind and body drained, she collapsed onto the hard rock. She laid their half a minute, before a pair of ruff hand grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Get up you filthy wench." A voiced growled. Sheba vision had cleared enough to see that it was the foreman of the dig. "Get to work." His voice dripped with deadly venom. "Now!" He slammed her into the ground. The breath was snatched from Sheba's body; she struggled to breath in the thin air. Gasping, she managed to choke out a few words. "I-I I'm, I'm sorry sir." Sheba wheezed, "I can't." A fist slammed into Sheba's jaw.

"I'll tell you what you can and can't do." The foreman picked her up by the color of her robes. "Work!" He screamed, giving her a knee to the gut. "Work you damned wench!" The foreman was working himself into a rage; reaching to grab Sheba again he was stopped by a firm hand on his shoulder.

"If you lay another hand on her I will kick your body all the way down this damned mountain." A voice whispered into the foreman's ear from behind.

"You wouldn't dare Felix." The foreman said angrily. "I outrank you."

"Does that give you any right to abuse a helpless girl? Think rationally Mark." Felix walked in front of the foreman, shielding him from Sheba. "Just because you out rank me in the kings standard military doesn't mean I'd think twice about kicking your sorry ass down this mountain." Mark laughed, "Felix, you talk big," he said. "but you wouldn't have the guts to do such a thing. Sheba watch as Felix levitated a stone from the ground. _He's an adept! _She thought. _Amazing!_ This was the first adept she'd ever met. All her life she'd felt queer and unwelcome in the town of Laviero, she'd been the only one with her kind of power. To find another adept, it was a shock to her. Felix was saying something, snapping back to the present she focused her thoughts on the scene before her.

"Take a look at this rock Mark." Felix began, "Now, take a look at that cliff over there." He said, pointing to a cliff not 50 feet away. "I bet I could send both you and that rock all the way over the cliff together." A devilish smile spread over his face. "You care to test my prediction out." Mark's eyes widened in fear,

"You're crazy, you'd never do such a thing, the king would have your head for such an act." he said, a slight tremble creeping into his throat. Felix's smile only got wider, "Are you sure about that? Look around you, no one is watching. Heck, I bet I'd be the man of the hour if I sent you over the side. You're not exactly loved by your men." Mark knew what Felix said was true; no one gave a rat's ass if Felix killed him, and he was at the mercy of this crazy adept. "Tell you what," Mark said, he had to bargain, anything to save his life. Mark was as coward at heart, he knew it, but being a coward was better than being dead he rationalized. "If you spare my life, I promise, I will never lay a hand on the girl again." Felix frowned, "I'd rather send you over the side anyways, that way I'd know for sure that you were keeping your promise." Grinning once again, he said. "But I'll let you live anyways, but if I see you ever lay a hand on her again," He wagged his finger, "It's over the side for you. Or, if were not on the mountain, some other horrible death." Felix mouth was in a playful smile. Mirth dancing behind his brown eyes. Dropping the stone he helped Sheba up and took her towards the tents.

As they walked away, Mark fell to his knees, relief coursing through his body. _That Felix_, he thought, _he's not right in the head. Not right in the head at all._

A short distance away, Felix was chortling as he led Sheba towards the camp set up by fellow expedition members.

"So you're an adept" Sheba questioned

"I am." Said Felix, "I'm sorry about that display over there, quite out of character on my part." he spoke in a serious tone, "But I was quite ready to send that flaming bag of dung over the side. He had no right to treat you like that." Noticing Sheba's exhaustion he slowed his pace. The two walked slowly to a tent on the outskirts of the camp. Ducking under the flap, the two walk into the tent. A red haired girl sat their, nursing a cup of hot tea.

"Hello Felix." She greeted them, "And who are you?" she asked, gesturing towards Sheba.

"I'm Sheba."

"Nice to meet you."

"Jenna," Felix said, "do you mind if she spent some time in the tent. She's quite exhausted."

"No problem." Jenna said. Relieved, Sheba collapsed onto a straw mattress.

"Thank you so much for your hospitality." She whispered, and let the waves of sleep envelope her.

The room before Sheba swam into focus. It was a small storage room made of brick and mortar. She was lying on a straw mattress and a tray of food stood beside her. But why was she here. Sheba sat up rubbing her eyes. As her mind shook off the drowsiness of sleep things started coming back. She had come to King Babi to discuss of the relationship between Angara and Gondowan. Babi had declined her offer, saying that a child such as her should leave such matters to adults. _A baby, he treated me like a little squealing infant!_ Sheba had never thought much of the king of Angara. Too busy meeting with high ranking officials to care much about his people. Though Babi had all the power, his focus was only on the higher members of society. It was his advisors, Kraden and Iodem that kept peasant life running. _Lazy bastard, first he denies my request to talk politics, then he throws me in here._ Sheba furrowed her brow in anger. Her situation was hopeless, though Babi was a bad king; she doubted he would confine her to this... cell. She was beginning to doubt that he would let her go home either.

Of course her father had no idea she was here, as she'd conveniently forgotten to tell him. So there was no chance of Faran sending in the cavalry to get her out. _What a strange dream…_She thought. _Premonition. _She corrected herself, though she rarely had them, she knew what she had seen was a premonition. Or a glimpse into the future. Sheba was a Jupiter adept, one who possessed the power to read a persons mind, and sometimes, look into the future. Though this premonition was different, most of the time, her premonitions were viewed in third person. But she was inside her own body this time. Heck, she was even able to listen to the thoughts of the foreman.

Sheba sighed, "There is nothing I can do. I'm Babi's prisoner." She mumbled. She nearly jumped out of her skin when the door to the storage closet opened. In walked Babi and two men she did not know. One of them was carrying a sheet of parchment. The other carried an ink bottle and quill.

"Hello Sheba." Babi greeted her as he sat down. Sheba gave him a venomous glare. "Not one to talk are you." He said, shrugging Sheba's glare off as if it were nothing. "Meet Kraden, and Iodem. My scholars and advisors. They are here to help us write a letter to your father, Faran. After all, since I could not allow you to return home I shall inform of your father of your extended stay." Also," he began, "I know you're not fond of me, so I'm going to grant you a chance to get way from me. I've got an expedition ready to be sent out to Mt. Aleph tomorrow, to explore the mountain. If you like, I can make arrangement for you to join the expedition so you can get away from the castle for a few days." A rather generous offer to come from a man like Babi.

"Fine, I will go with your expedition." Sheba replied. _Anything to get away from him. _Babi clapped his hands together. "Wonderful!" He exclaimed. "I will make preparations right away. Now," turning to Kraden he said, "Kraden if you would please dictate for us."

"As you wish milord." Kraden set the parchment on the straw mattress, uncorked the ink bottle, and dipped the quill in the ink. "Ready when you are sir.

"Alright, help me with this Sheba." The two began to compose the letter that would go to Faran. When it was finished, Kraden asked, "Would you like me to read it you milord?"

"Yes, yes, go ahead." Babi replied. Taking a deep breath Kraden began to speak.

_Dear King Faran,_

_By the time this reaches you, you will be undoubtedly worried about you daughter Sheba. Let me assuage some of your fears. As one of my advisors writes this your daughter is beside me, helping me write this letter. Yes, I have your daughter. Do not worry. I have no intent to harm your daughter. She came to me of her own free will, and unfortunately, in these times I simply cannot let her go home by of her own will. I do not know how she slipped past my soldiers and your soldiers on the banks of the Tolbi River, but she did, though I doubt she could manage to pull it off again. So, if you would kindly write back, perhaps we could arrange a way to safely return your daughter to your lands. As it will take several days for our letters to travel, your daughter has agreed to join an expedition to explore Mt. Aleph, to keep her busy, of course. I hope you correspond soon._

_Sincerely_

_King Babi_

Kraden took several deep breaths as he finished the letter.

"That is good." Babi said. Turning to Sheba he said "You will set out for Mt. Aleph in the morning. Good night Sheba." Then he and his advisors left the room.

_And may nightmares haunt your dreams Mr. Babi. _Sheba thought as they left the room. Sheba ate the food on her plate and went to sleep.

Just outside Sheba's room, Babi snatched the letter from Kraden's hands. "I have a few changes to make." When he was done, there was one new addition to the letter.

_P.S. Though your daughter does not know it. (I write this out of her presence.) I have committed her unknowingly to the search for the elemental stars. If the high altitude doesn't kill her, my foreman will. I will leave him to his methods to dispose of her. Perhaps, she will simply overexert her self. Maybe a mysterious illness, perhaps she will stray to close to the edge of a cliff and go over the side. Or she may just mysteriously… disappear. That's right Faran, you can say good bye to your daughter. You won't see her again._

Finished, Babi rolled up the parchment and handed it to Iodem. "Send this by way of messenger. When they reach the Tolbi River, instruct them to pass it on to a Gondowan messenger."

"As you wish Milord." Iodem hurried off. Babi turned to Kraden. "Kraden, you are relieved. Go get a nice rest."

"Thank you milord." Kraden gave a bow, and left.

"Things are going exactly as planned." Babi muttered to himself, and he too, turned in for the night.

Authors Note: Well, I hope that gets the ball rolling, I plan to have the next chapter up between, June12 through 20, if not sooner. Til then, cya.


	2. Chapter 2

_Authors Note: Wow... it has been way too long, heres chapter two, this is not the four thousand word behemoth the first chapter was. (Thankfully) I'll do my best to keep chapter threes arrival less than... umm... the 17 months this one took. FFN doesn't seem to like allowing breaks in the text, which is annoying when you're trying to switch scenes, if anyone could help me out with that, I'd greatly appreciate it._

**Chapter Two: **A caravan tore out of Vale, its two horses in a full gallop. The sun was peeking its head above the horizon as the caravan raced towards the town of Vault. Inside were Ivan, Issac, Mia, Garet and Piers. The five were jostled around as the caravan raced across the uneven ground.

Issac shouted above the din of the caravans rattling. "Driver, slow 'er down!" Almost immediately the horses slowed their pace to a brisk trot.

"Sorry about that." The caravan driver, a thin lanky man, apologized.

"No problem," Issac replied, "I wasn't clear. When I said to get to Vault quickly I didn't mean at a neck breaking speed." Turning to his fellow adepts Issac lapsed back into silence.

"So," Mia said, "anybody have any plans for their trips?" Ivan, who'd been dosing slighty in the back of the caravan, perked up.

"Yeah, Garet and I are going to meet the kings men in Vault and make our way down to Kalay to see Hamet. Then I guess we'll make our way down the Silk Road." It was Piers's turn to speak up.

"I'm going to accompany Ivan and Garet. Babi tells me that he's arranged for some people from Champa to escort me from Xian to Champa where his Lemurian ship has been moved. What about you Mia? What shall you and Issac do?"

"Issac and I will go through the mountains to Bilbin, from their we will head to Imil."

For the next hour the group engaged in various small talk, until the caravan abruptly stopped.

"We've reached Vault." The driver said.

"Good." Issac hopped out of the caravan. Generously overpaying the driver. A small smile crossed his face as an incredulous look passed over the driver's face. Then Issac and his friends headed into the city.

The group headed to the local inn, a young girl stood at the reception desk to greet them.

"Hello, how may I help you?" She enquired with a smile.

"Some food for the group." Issac replied jovially.

"Feel free to seat yourselves." The girl replied as she hurried off towards the cook. The group walked over to a table in one of the corners and promptly collapsed in their chairs. The group sat for a while merrily discussing their travel plans and engaging in other small talk. When the food came Garet tore viciously into his share of food. No one spoke, each of them intent on finishing off their food. Later on when the adepts had taken their fill of food, the ale came.

Issac grabbed his mug of ale and stood up."Too good times!" He jovially shouted, raising his mug above his head, the adepts roared in agreement and their was much clinking and drinking of ale. When all was said and done, Mia and Issac bid Garet, Ivan, and Piers good bye, and set off for Imil.

The trio sat idle in the inn, waiting for Babi's escort to arrive. Twenty minutes into their wait, a man in a beige cloak with a shaved head and piercing blue eyes entered the inn. Striding over to the adepts table, the man let out a hand.

"You are the king's adepts Ivan, Piers, and Garet, correct?"

"Correct," Ivan grasped the mans hand, his hand shake was sturdy and firm.

"Let me introduce myself, I am Leif, a captain in King Babi's army."

"Well met Leif." Piers flashed a smile. "Shall we get going?"

"Of course, if you gentlemen would follow me." The four of them strode out of the inn. Garet threw a bit of silver on the table from a leather pouch worn around his waist onto the table.

"So who's who?" Leif asked as the group strode down an uneven dirt path to two wagons at the town entrance.

"I'm Piers," Piers began, "my shorter friend is Ivan, and the fellow with the red hair is Garet."

"Mind if you refer to you as redhead, blondie, and Mr. B?" Leif asked, laughing. Ivan and Garet exchanged looks.

"Aren't soldiers supposed to be… serious?" Garet whispered to Ivan, who shrugged helplessly. Piers merely continued towards the wagons with a pained look on his face.

"Mr. B?"

It was happening again, Sheba felt her body giving in to the exhaustion of moving the earth. Just like before she felt herself collapse, only to be greeted by the rough hands and words of Mark. But something was different from her premonition, something cold was pressed against her neck. It took Sheba a moment, but she realized that it was the cold steel of a knife.

"Such a shame." Mark whispered in her ear. "Such a shame that a pretty lass like you has to die. Babi's orders though." The words cut through Sheba's mind like an axe through a tree. Slowly she understood that Babi had ordered her death.

"No," She gasped, taking in huge gulps of air. "Let me live."

"Indeed, let her go." Relief washed over Sheba as she heard Felix's voice.

"Stay out of this Felix." Mark growled, turning to face Felix who'd come up on him from behind. "I've orders from Babi to kill her, you interfere and I swear I'll get the king to hang you."

"Dead men tell no tales." Felix whispered, quick as a flash Felix had withdrawn his sword from its sheath and pointed it at Marks breast. "I know how much you fear death Mark. Let her go." Felix's voice was now firm. A look of fear flashed in Marks eyes, but they quickly hardened.

"I go, she goes." He stated flatly. Felix stood their, considering his options, there wasn't much he could do for the girl Mark had by the neck. But as he stood their, sword aimed at Mark, an idea came to him.

"I'll bargain with you. A sword fight to the death. I die, you can kill the girl. You die, well, you're dead. Anyhow, what say you?" Mark stood their, he seemed to be considering his options.

"Fine." He spat, "A duel to the death. None of that adept shit either." Calling one of the soldiers over he handed Sheba over to him.

"Bring me a sword." He told the soldier, who carried Sheba off and returned promptly with a sword. Felix lowered his sword from Marks breast. Sheathing his sword, Felix spoke to Mark.

"How does ten paces sound to you?"

King Faran stood over the letter, emblazoned with the seal of King Babi. Rage boiling inside him, Faran read the letter once more. So that's were Sheba was. That's why she'd been gone for the past twelve days. Rational thought was slowly being pushed back into the deepest recesses of his brain. Surely she was still alive, he'd bargain with Babi, do anything to get her back.

Still inside Farans brain lay another train of thought, a voice that was slowly strangling Farans hope from his mind. She was dead. Dead, he thought, Sheba was dead, Babi would pay. But, if she was alive, then it would be okay. He'd get her back. With a final mortal stab, Faran's rage took over, she was dead, he knew it. For his daughters life Angara would pay, deeply. Faran quickly found quill and parchment. Scribbling notes, sketches, and orders, Faran summoned one of his aids to get him a chair.

Late into the night Faran wrote, crossed out, and rewrote countless times. When the sun rose, the final products of the night were stacked neatly to one side of his desk. Faran summoned all of his aids and gave them the corresponding pieces of parchment. Weary, Faran turned in to his chambers, and drifted into an uneasy sleep.


End file.
